"Let's Learn together about Autistic Spectrum Disorders
"Learning to hit the curve ball"
Welcome, I say learning to hit the curve ball because sometimes life throws you alot of curve balls...and our attitude/reaction and the way we choose to handle lifes curve balls can mean the difference between striking out or even hitting the ball at all..
WHAT IS ASPERGER SYNDROME
Reprinted with premission from the On-Line Asperger Syndrome Information &
Support.
Asperger Syndrome is a neuro-biological disorder named for a Viennese physician,
Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of
behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language
development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked
deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication
of the paper in the 1940’s, it wasn’t until 1994 that Asperger
Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been
recognized by professionals and parents. Most researchers feel falls at the "high-end" of the Autisitic Spectrum.
Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It’s important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting". By definition, those with AS have a normal I.Q. and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naivete’, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors.", However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.
They may have:
· unusually accurate memory for details
· sleeping or eating problems
· trouble understanding things they have heard or read
· unusual speech patterns
· stilted, formal manner of speaking
· unusually loud, high or monotonous voice
For more information, :
**UPDATE***
Click here for my new page with "Detailed Autistic Spectrum Information"
This includes overview of symptoms, Medical evaluations, treatments, and Assesments.
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/>On Line Asperger Syndrome Information & Support
******"New"*******
http://www.isdd.indiana.edu/~irca/Supporti.html"Supporting the Student/client with Asperger Syndrome"
WHAT IS AUTISM
Reprinted from the Autism Society of America Web Site.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first
three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects
functioning of the brain, autism and its associated behaviors are reported
to occur in as many as one in five hundred individuals.
Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence.
Autism interferes with the normal development of the brain in the areas of reasoning, social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism typically have deficiencies in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities. The disorder makes it hard for them to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. They may exhibit repeated body movements (hand flapping, rocking), unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resist any changes in routines. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present.
It is conservatively estimated that nearly 400,000 people in the U.S. today have some form of autism. Autism affects 15 in 10,000 people. It's prevalence rate now places it as the third most common developmental disability - more common than Down's syndrome. Yet the majority of the public, including many professionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields are still unaware of how autism affects people and how to work effectively with individuals with autism.
Autism is often referred to as a spectrum disorder, meaning the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe.
Autism is treatable. Early diagnosis and intervention are vital to the future development of the child. Today, as a result of appropriate and individualized services and programs, even the more severely disabled can be taught skills to allow them to develop to their fullest potential.
The Internet is full of information.
Here is a few of the Autism
and Asperger’s related sites that I thought were most helpful.
Autism Society of America
http://www.autism-society.org
TEACCH Web Site
http://www.unc.edu/depts/teacch/
******"New"*******
"Supporting the Student/client with Asperger Syndrome"
http://www.isdd.indiana.edu/~irca/Supporti.html
The following are a list of recommendations that were written in the course of serving many students with high-functioning autism. The recommendations cover several topics including, the use of schedules, adapting academic material for students with autism, developing social skills, and managing behavior.
Not all of these recommendations will be necessary or appropriate for all high-functioning students. The major principles on which these recommendations are based, however, are the same for all students with autism. These principles include 1) using your understanding of the characteristics of autism as a means of understanding the autistic student's behavior and learning style, 2) building new skills by developing each student's strengths and interests, and 3) using visual information to help students understand their schedule, academic content, or behavioral expectations. Keeping these principles in mind when you adapt these recommendations for your students, or when you develop your own techniques, will help to ensure their success.
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Recommendations for Students
with High Functioning Autism
1. When students with autism are mainstreamed into the regular classroom
setting it would be best to do so for classes that are interesting to them
and which are related to their strengths. For example, handicapped students
are often mainstreamed into electives such as physical education classes.
Such a strategy would probably not be successful for children with autism.
The social nature of this type of class and the relative lack of structure
would make it difficult for them to have success in this setting. They would
be much more successful if they were placed in a class such as math, and
electives, such as computers, which are academic strengths, strong interests,
and take place in a structured setting.
2. Many high-functioning students with autism have been very successful in
school when they are assisted by an individual aide. Again this should be
a person who knows about autism. Such a person would benefit from receiving
specific training regarding high-functioning autism. The role of this person
should not be to serve as the student's shadow who steps in and helps whenever
a problem arises. Instead, the aide is most helpful when she or he assists
in developing and implementing the structure (schedules, modifying assignments,
checklists, etc.) that will be useful in increasing the child's independence.
This aide can also make sure that these structures are implemented throughout
his day. Even when the student with autism is spending time in a special
education class, it might be helpful for him to have the aide present. In
this situation the aide might be responsible for implementing the structure
and making sure that the student's assignments and instruction are commensurate
with those being presented in regular classrooms. This might be necessary
as his peers in a special education classroom may not have academic skills
that are comparable to his.
3. Providing a student with autism structured opportunities to interact with
peers can help him develop his social skills. Just putting him in situations
where other children are present, however, is unlikely to be helpful. Instead,
inviting students into his special education class to play structured games
is a way to give him practice interacting while keeping the interaction focused
through a concrete game. In some cases, providing his peers with simple
information about autism is also likely to make his peer interactions more
successful because they will know more about why he does the things that
seem odd to them.
4. A student with autism might also benefit from having an assigned buddy
who accompanies him in some less structured social situations. For example,
an older mature student might volunteer to sit with him at lunch two days
each week and help him to interact with other students in that setting. Such
buddies might also help him develop leisure skills. Some older youngsters
from boy scout troops, church groups, or college students are often willing
to help children by accompanying them on a community outing each week to
places such as the bowling alley, movies, or science museum. Often an older
boy or young man can serve as a role model in a way that is more attractive
to children with autism than when adults are telling them how to behave.
5. As students with autism move into middle school and high school,
extracurricular activities become another structured opportunity for peer
interaction. Joining groups that are related to the strengths and interests
of a child with autism gives them the opportunity to interact around a shared
interest.
6. Many students with autism benefit from using a notebook that helps them
organize their work and materials. These notebooks are usually ring binders
that have a folder for every class during the day. The folder should have
two pockets: one for assignments and the other for completed work. In addition
to the folders, there should be a place for his daily schedule, a notebook
for communication between teachers and parents, and a plastic pouch to carry
his supplies. If he has difficulty organizing his supplies for different
classes he may need a separate pouch for each class which could be placed
in front of the class folder. For example, he may need a pouch with a Spanish
dictionary in front of his Spanish folder and a pouch with a calculator in
front of his Math folder. If the student has long-term assignments he also
may need a calendar in his notebook that displays when larger projects are
due or when major tests are due.
7. Some students have difficulty remembering which books to take home. It
is often helpful to give students with autism two sets of books; one for
home and one for school. This reduces the number of ideas that the child
needs to organize to be able to complete his homework in a timely way.
8. It is very important for individuals with autism to learn to rely on daily
schedules. By doing so, they will be able to function in a more organized
and independent manner as adults. We recommend that students with autism
learn to independently follow the directions of a daily schedule that is
contained on the inside cover of their school notebook. It could be housed
within a laminated sleeve so that they can use a water soluble marker to
cross off each event as it occurs. This is also a good avenue for introducing
unexpected changes that may occurring during the day. Changes should be
highlighted so that he can anticipate them without becoming upset.
An example of a daily schedule could be:
8:00-8:50 Homeroom (Folder 1 for homeroom directions)
8:50-9:00 Go to restroom, then Science is Mrs. Mates'
9:00-9:50 Mrs. Mates Science (Folder 2 for science directions) and so on...
A similar schedule can be used at home on the weekends. This schedule will
be more flexible but some structure is probably necessary for students with
autism even during free time. For example, they may be able to avoid bothering
their brother or sister if they have a list of choices of things to do during
free time so that they have some direction to which might prevent them from
getting into trouble. Since they are motivated to spend time with their brother
or sister, time to play with them can be specified on the schedule so that
they know that they will get to play with them at some time in the day. Again
specifying a structured activity, such as a game, will help them to play
more appropriately.
9. When you are preparing persons with autism to work or play independently,
they will be most successful if you provide them with the following written
information:
A. What am I expected to do? (work, play, chores, lines in a conversation,
etc.)
B. How much am I expected to do?
C. How will I know when I am finished?
D. What will I do next?
By knowing ahead the answers to these questions, the child will be more successful and independent in completing activities. Having a clear understanding of what is happening and what they are supposed to do will also decrease any anxiety they feel when they are unsure and unable to ask for clarification.
The following is an example of the type of assignment that would meet these criteria.
FOLDER 2 (SCIENCE):
Complete the following steps. REMEMBER to cross off each step as you complete
it.Example:
Step 1. Read all of the directions first. READ THE DIRECTIONS ONLY, THEN go back
to number 2 and do what it says.
Step 2. Read pages 34-38 in your book, "Airplanes of World War II."
Step 3. Write 2 paragraphs about the information you read in the book. Each paragraph
should have 5 sentences.
Step 4. When you have finished writing, put your paper in the "finished assignments"bin on Mrs. Mates desk.
Step 5. Check in your notebook for what is next on your daily schedule.
10. Providing a person with autism checklists is another way to help them
remain organized. For example, when the student has homework assignments
it would be helpful to provide two pieces of information. At the top of each
homework assignment sheet would be a list of necessary materials. On the
bottom would be his assignment written out in detail as described in
recommendation 8. Giving the child checklists is particularly helpful when
they has to complete short series of related activities or when they need
to organize a group of materials.
For a chore at home they might need a checklist
for completing the steps necessary to clean their room. "Clean your room"
would be an item on their schedule. Then a checklist could be posted in their
room telling them all the things they need to do:
make your bed _____
put away your clean clothes _____
put your books on the shelf _____
put your school notebook in your backpack _____
put your toys in the toy bin _____
sweep the floor _____
They would check off each item as they completed it so that they would know whether they have finished all of their tasks.
11. A child with autism is likely to be more successful at completing school
assignments and tests if the work is presented in a way that visually highlights
and organizes important information. For example, the directions for a test
might be highlighted so that he will be sure to see them. Important sections
of a book can also be highlighted to help him study. If he will need specific
information from a reading in order to complete an assignment, a teacher
could highlight that information in the text, or give him a written reminder
telling him the type of information to look for. For example, if he is reading
a story about Thanksgiving and he is going to write an essay about the foods
that pilgrims ate, his assignment could read, "Read pages 10-16 about
Thanksgiving, and pay attention to what it says about FOOD."
Worksheets might need to be reorganized to help the student be more successful. He is more likely to finish all the problems and follow directions if there are fewer problems on each sheet of paper and if the place for his answers is large and prominent. For example, his class might have a homework assignment of 20 problems that are all written on the same page. The student might be more successful if his assignment contains the same 20 problems, but on 4 different pages. Each problem night be accompanied with a large numbered box that corresponds to the number of each problem so that he can clearly see where the answer belongs and also clearly see whether he has finished all of the problems on the page.
Very long tests may also need to be rewritten to help the student complete them successfully.
Homework assignments may need to be written in a way that gives more information that other students usually need. For example, the other students may remember to copy the assignment from the board, but a student with high functioning autism might need the teacher to write the assignment and put it in their folder. Along with the written assignment, the teacher may also need to write a checklist of the materials the student will need.
Finally, a child with high functioning autism may be more successful at mastering some academic skills if aspects of their curriculum are geared towards their interests. For example, instead of trying to stop them from thinking about airplanes, they could learn math using airplanes. For example, when teaching division, you can have them calculate the speed of a plan that takes 5 hours to go 1000 miles.
12. If classes rely on lecture as a teaching method if may be necessary to
find someone who can help the student with high functioning autism to take
notes. This help could take one or more of
Reprinted with compliments of the TEACCH Web Site. Article written
by Kerry Hogan - Division TEACCH - April 1998.
UNITY
I dreamed I stood in a studio
and watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
and they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher - the tools she used
were books, music and art.
The other, a parent, worked with a guiding hand,
and a gentle, loving heart…
Day after day, the teacher toiled with touch
that was careful, deft and sure.
While the parent labored by her side
and polished and smoothed it over.
And when at last their task was done,
they were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had molded into the child
could neither be sold nor brought.
And each agreed they would have failed
if each had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school
and behind the teacher, the home.
